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TOP 100<br />
companies<br />
Money losers sink<br />
deeper into red<br />
paced by Srbijagas<br />
by Djordje Daskalovich<br />
On the money losers side, the general<br />
downtrend in the financial performance of<br />
the top 100 companies in Southeast Europe<br />
(SEE) is even more evident than in the other<br />
rankings. The combined loss of the ten biggest<br />
loss-makers among the entrants in SEE<br />
TOP 100 widened to 1.8 billion euro from<br />
1.3 billion euro they posted a year earlier.<br />
In comparison, the top ten entrants in last<br />
year's edition of the ranking posted a combied<br />
loss of 1.6 billion euro. As energy companies<br />
continue to dominate the ranking,<br />
the negative result can largely be attributed<br />
to the sharp fall in oil prices on the global<br />
markets, which added to the other factors<br />
curbing the performance of the companies<br />
in the region.<br />
Serbian state-owned gas monopoly, Srbijagas,<br />
remains the biggest loss-maker for the<br />
third year in a row, even though it managed<br />
to cut its net loss to 373.5 million euro from<br />
434.9 million euro a year earlier. The company's<br />
restructuring is one of the most important<br />
issues on the agenda of the Serbian<br />
government, as it should provide the basis<br />
for rectifying a breach of the Energy Community<br />
law while also creating conditions for<br />
Serbia to start accession talks with the EU on<br />
energy policy. The Serbian energy minister<br />
has said that a financial adviser for Srbijagas<br />
will be picked by the end of the third quarter<br />
of 2015.<br />
Romania may have the biggest presence<br />
in the most profitable companies ranking,<br />
but it also dominates the not so glamorous<br />
money losers ranking with four entries.<br />
Most of the Romanian money losers again<br />
come from the energy industry, leaving<br />
only one spot for the metal industry. Slovenia<br />
and Bulgaria were tied for the second<br />
spot with two entries each. Bosnia and<br />
Herzegovina had one representative.<br />
Bulgarian state-owned electricity util-<br />
Biggest money losers<br />
No<br />
SEE TOP<br />
100 No<br />
Company name Country Industry<br />
ity Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania<br />
(NEK) jumped to the second spot this year<br />
from no. 10 in the previous edition, after<br />
its net loss more than doubled to 299.9<br />
million euro from 111.4 million euro a year<br />
earlier. NEK's catastrophic performance<br />
last year was largely the result of its obligation<br />
under long-term contracts with US<br />
companies AES and ContourGlobal to buy<br />
at a fixed price electricity generated by<br />
their thermal power plants in the country.<br />
Another factor that impacted its performance<br />
was that it was not calculating into<br />
the price for end-suppliers the full amount<br />
of costs it had sustained due to its obligation<br />
regarding the purchase of power generated<br />
from renewable sources.<br />
Oil refinery Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, another<br />
Bulgarian company, took the third<br />
place after its net loss widened to 272.1<br />
million euro from 123.3 million euro a year<br />
earlier.<br />
Two Romanian companies coming from<br />
the petroleum and gas sector - Rompetrol<br />
Rafinare and Complexul Energetic Oltenia,<br />
were ranked at no. 4 and no. 5, respectively<br />
after their performance deteriorated<br />
sharply last year. Rompetrol Rafinare saw<br />
its net loss widen to 239.8 million euro<br />
from 50 million euro while Complexul Energetic<br />
Oltenia's turned to a net loss of<br />
154.8 million euro in 2014 from a net profit<br />
of 1 million euro a year earlier. Through<br />
its two refineries, Rompetrol Rafinare accounts<br />
for over 40% of Romania's refining<br />
capacity and is the only producer of polymers<br />
in the country. In 2015, the Romanian<br />
government announced layoff plans for<br />
the state-controlled energy holding company<br />
Complexul Energetic Oltenia and restructuring<br />
measures aimed at boosting<br />
its efficiency.<br />
The last entrant in the top money losers<br />
ranking – Slovenian car parts maker CIMOS,<br />
recorded a net loss of 49.8 million euro.<br />
Methodology<br />
Net loss<br />
2014<br />
in millions of euro<br />
Net profit/<br />
loss 2013<br />
1 54 JP Srbijagas Serbia Petroleum/Natural Gas -373.5 -434.9<br />
2 15 Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD Bulgaria Electricity -299.9 -111.4<br />
3 3 Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD Bulgaria Petroleum/Natural Gas -272.1 -123.3<br />
4 7 Rompetrol Rafinare SA Romania Petroleum/Natural Gas -239.8 -50.0<br />
5 31 Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA Romania Electricity -154.8 1.0<br />
6 67 Optima Grupa d.o.o. Banja Luka<br />
Bosnia and<br />
Herzegovina<br />
Petroleum/Natural Gas -153.3 -74.5<br />
7 39 Arcelormittal Galati SA Romania Metals -107.6 -165.4<br />
8 17 Poslovni Sistem Mercator d.d. Slovenia Wholesale/Retail -95.1 -35.6<br />
9 18 Petrotel - Lukoil SA Romania Petroleum/Natural Gas -68.7 -207.1<br />
10 88 CIMOS d.d. Slovenia Automobiles -49.8 -137.6<br />
Money losers is a ranking of<br />
10 companies with the most<br />
significant losses in SEE TOP<br />
100. To allow comparison, all<br />
local currencies have been<br />
converted into euro, using<br />
the central banks’ official exchange<br />
rates on the last working<br />
day of 2014 and 2013, respectively.<br />
15
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